Whenever Bone Daddy, the original Sportsphile, tells the story about how his sports bar, Madison Square Garden, The Sports Place at 302 E. 6th Street in downtown Austin, Tx actually became a reality ….that is when he says….“Sometimes life just takes us where you are supposed to be….and you just simply didn’t know you were going there.”….as this comment explains quite well how his sports bar really came together….and the story goes like this.
Comedy – 2006 – Jimmy Kimmel Live – With Comedian Jonathan Winters
Being the top dog at this museum and video library….I am going to make a jump to 1975….when BD and his good friend and partner, TNT were starting the process of opening their sports bar, Madison Square Garden, The Sports Place at 302 East 6th Street in downtown Austin, TX. Since I know all of the stories from the day their place opened….therefore, in this case, it’s not just hearsay or stories handed down by my ancestors like in many of my other stories that I tell….as these stories have all come from the horse’s mouths themselves….from times when The Boys (BD’s friends) would get together at BD’s place….and at some point begin to tell stories surrounding the events and particulars of how this “The Mecca for Sportsphiles” all came together….albeit not all the stories were worth wading through all the extra B*** S*** that typically surfaced during these times around “the ole campsite”…..and do to my recent ascent to the highest rung of the food chain around here….that is why I am making an executive decision to tell all these stories exactly as I have heard them during these “boy’s night out sessions”…..for it is important to make note before I go further about how Bone Daddy’s sports bar actually came into existence….cuz that is when his sports collecting went into hyper drive…..and from there would come the genisis of his video library from there.
Boxing – 1974 – World Heavyweight Boxing Title Fight – Muhammad Ali Vs Smokin’ Joe Frazier – Fight II
As 1975 was coming to a close….that when lifelong “best friends” BD and TNT were both in the real estate business in Austin….with TNT, while specializing in “income properties,” had 2-story 11,000 sq. ft. commercial building at 302 E.6th St. in downtown Austin cross his desk…..and he knew that BD’s good friend, Rags Murphy, was looking for location for a sports bar….so, BD and TNT took the property to Rags….and he looked at the building and said he liked it…..and after Rags presented his presentation for his sports bar….that is when a signed contract ensued….which fell apart just before closing cuz Rags didn’t get the loan he thought he would get…..as he had the cash money to build the bar….but he didn’t have enough credit to buy the building…..for Rags had a “cash cow” saloon type bar and was not a poor man, just different….cuz the truth be known, Rags was a Sportsphile….who just didn’t know that he was….cuz I invented the word….and I also knew Rags.
MLB – 2015 – Special Highlights – Best Yankee Moments From 2000 To 2015
Being problem solvers, BD and TNT, said “OK, we’ll find a buyer”…..while they “pitched the deal” as having a successful bar owner that wants to open a 2nd location….who had a contract that fell through at financing….and he still wants the location….which ended up being an easy sale to TNT’s father, a successful investor in the oil business in Midland…..where TNT and BD grew up….and when Daddy Bob bought the building….that is when Rags backed out of wanting to rent the building…..and that is when the “problem solvers” that were also “future Sportsphiles”decided to move forward and open Madison Square Garden, The Sports Place at 302 E. 6th St. in downtown Austin.
News & NFL – 2019 – News Special – Legendary Activist + NFL Hall Of Fame RB Jim Brown On Denigrating The Flag And National Anthem
NFL – 1957 To 1965 – Special – Top 100 NFL Greatest Players Of All Time – # 2 Cleveland Browns RB Jim Brown
Since the moment The Garden opened, the sports collection continued at an accelerated pace for the next 16+ years….as BD, TNT, Rags, Prince and Spanky went to hundreds and hundreds of live sporting events during the MSG years….and from each event they attended, they would bring back souvenirs and collectibles….which were continuously displayed those pieces throughout the “11,000 Sq Ft Sports Heaven”….a place that served sports like no other then or in the history of Austin sports bars. Anyway….talking about the memorabilia of events seen, as BD so aptly put it….”I could expense it all”. Now ain’t that America….there’s no place like it….especially when it comes to sports….and when you can write it off on your expense account….OMGD (Oh My God Dog).
Comedy – 1982 – Richard Pryor Live On Sunset Strip – “Penitentary Routine”
The idea of Madison Square Garden, The Sports Place, became a concept in the spring of 1974….as BD and his lifelong friend TNT….were working together in the real estate business. BD was putting together land syndications while working with Little Mo….who had just left the real estate brokerage house that TNT was with at the time….a place where Little Mo and TNT had both successfully been focused on commercial real estate with one of the top commercial real estate companies in Austin….a company owned by the wife of the Senate Majority Leader in the Texas State Senate….so they had political inroads.
Music – 1967- Louis Armstrong – “What A Wonderful World”
Music – 1968 – Louis Armstrong – “Hello Dolly”
During the years of Bone Daddy working in real estate with Little Mo from 1970 to 1974….that is when BD became good friends with Little Mo’s little brother….Sapo (Spanish word meaning “Frog”)…..who was well known on the East Side of town, as being the fastest blade East of IH 35…..for I have heard BD tell stories of altercations he saw first hand with Sapo….while hanging out on Austin’s East Side with the “bad boys”….where as BD puts it…“I saw Frog cut guys before any of them could even get a punch thrown….a knife drawn.…or a heater in their hand”.After all….they didn’t call him the fastest blade on the East side for nothing.
MLB – 1951 To 1968 – Special – Career Highlights Of New York Yankees CF Mickey Mantle
In early 1973….BD and Frog began to frequent Soldiers Rec Pool Hall….which was owned and operated by a true local legend named Ole Blue….for Soldiers Rec was located at 302 E. 6th Street….in the part of downtown Austin that many folks would NEVER venture into. Maybe it was because of the winos….the panhandlers….the working girls….the transvestites….and generally all the shady characters who hung out on the street that scared them away….as I really don’t know why…..but like in any other microcosm….there were good sides along with all the obvious bad sides to this part of historic 6th Street in Austin. When going into this particular area of East 6th Street….the least tasteful elements were more obvious….cuz the truth is that you had to open certain “private doors” on the street before the good parts of the street would come into play. Some of the best pieces of this particular story for BD were founded in the experiences he had on the east side of this famous street and in the barrio of East Austin. One particular benefit was getting the opportunity to go with Sapo to Ole Blue’s place…which was a great place to shoot pool….which made for the truest roll of the pool balls….plus it was a good place to place a sports bet….or put the money down on the table before the next game of 8-Ball or 9-Ball….while drinking a cold beer of course.
Pool – 2019 – Special – Trick Shots By Venom Kohler
Ole Blue’s Soldiers Recreation Pool Hall was an awesome place….sporting five (5) Brunswick Sport King pool tables….the kind w/ 1.5 inch thick single piece slates….which really made for a pure surface with no table roll…..as BD and Sapo really liked going there because both were both pretty good pool players….but both were even better at winning bets while shooting pool. Ole Blue’s was a place where you had to put your cash right on the table before you ever chalked your cue….all the while that Ole Blue was “a guy who knew how to RULE his kingdom….for he was a LION….at the top of the food chain on the East Side of Austin”. Since Ole Blue and Sapo were like family….BD felt right at home and safe in this environment….for as being a Gringo white boy in East Austin….he knew Ole Blue and Sapo always had his back. The experience of getting to know life at Soldiers Rec was the breeding ground for BD’s ability to conceive a sports bar in that very location a few years later when the opportunity presented itself.
Daredevils – 1966 To 1979 – Special – Evel Knievel’s Greatest Hits
Let it be known, I just love the stories of these early days on 6th Street when BD talks about the people of the times….as they were almost magical in nature….with characters of all kinds and all breeds that were almost bigger than life itself. When BD started down the path to opening his sports bar in downtown Austin….in his journey there, he encountered many interesting folks with very interesting backgrounds from various cultures and heritage….and 6th Street was a “petri dish” for his education.
Comedy – 1972 – Lily Tomlin – Ernestine The Telephone Operator Calls General Motors
After being a customer at Soldier’s Rec for over 3 years….where Ole Blue got to keep a watchful eye of Bone Daddy….and since I’m half Mexican, I know this quote to be true….“It takes three yrs of knowing a Gringo before a Mexican would ever do business with gringo”….but some after 3 years, while knowing the BD like to play poker, Ole Blue invited BD to a poker game….to a plush “card / poker room” bar….with a secret entrance through the alley of Ole Blue’s building that housed Soldiers Rec…..and let me just say that the “doors to the underbelly of the City of Austin” just opened up….and BD’s life was not the same ever again.
NBA – 1972 – Special – Red On Roundball – Dribbling With Pistol Pete Maravich
